The Aftermath
by shanfourteen
Summary: Set straight after the finale, this story will add a little more onto the characters' futures.
1. Chapter 1

"We failed," Roman repeats, gently rocking back and forth with Emery's head in his lap. She's breathing okay but she hasn't come to yet. Drake's got his jacket on Grayson's bullet wound, pressing hard to keep blood from pouring out. It's not really helping but all Drake knows is that he's got to try. "We didn't stop the Suvek, and everyone in Edendale is dead."

"Not everyone," Drake says forcefully, straining to look at Roman over his shoulder. "These two are still alive, and Grayson's been shot. Can you get her to wake?"

Roman breathes deeply and tries to rouse Emery with a little shake. She murmurs a jumble of words but her eyes open. "R-Roman?" she gasps, trying to sit up.

"Slowly," Roman warns her softly. "I'm pretty sure you've got a concussion."

Emery listens but the second she remembers Grayson she's up and over to his body, kneeling down on the other side of him, where Drake isn't. "He's losing a lot of blood," Drake tells her, gritting his teeth as another little wave of blood coats his fingers. "I don't know if he's going to make it."

Roman joins her on the ground and watches while she pulls out her phone. "I'm calling 911," she says, putting the phone to her ear, "but they'll be busy." Growling a second later, she presses a button and places the phone on the ground. "Can't even get through. Here," she adds, gesturing to the wound in Grayson, "let me take a look. I know a little bit of first aid."

"Not sure first aid's going to help him here," Drake mutters but removes his hands.

As Emery moves Drake's jacket a little to inspect the wound, Roman asks, "What the hell was that? I know it's a signal of some sort but what knocked us out?"

"Energy blast," Emery answers, "I think. Would have knocked out everything electronic."

Drake visibly stills. "That include cars?" he winces.

She nods, flicking her eyes up to Drake. "Yeah." Realising, she sucks in a breath. "Go," she says and Drake doesn't think twice.

"Elevators?" he calls back, already heading towards them.

"Should be running on an emergency generator, it'll work!"

He hits the down button, tapping his foot impatiently as it works its way up. He can hear Emery telling Roman to dial 911 again and panic threads its way through his body. Roman was right. They failed to stop the Suvek, and though it may not have been a bomb like they thought, it still went off and reigned destruction down on Edendale. The elevator doors ding as they open and Drake steps in, hitting the button with the g on it repeatedly, as if it will make it go faster. He finally hits the bottom, out at once and heading towards the doors Eric and Julia locked up.

"Drake?" a voice startles him. Eric. Drake turns towards the voice and sees a stumbling Eric, who's moving towards Julia. She's laying still, too still, and despite his hurry to find Taylor, he goes to her as well. When did he start to care for these people? "What the hell happened?" Eric asks.

"Emery thinks it was an energy blast," Drake tells him, the two of them kneeling besides Julia's body at the same time. "Knocked everyone on their asses and concussed all the humans." He looks at Eric then. "You feeling woozy?"

Eric shrugs, his features twisted in worry. "I'm more concerned about Julia," he says, checking for a pulse. "We were standing together when we got hit, and I think she might have landed wrong." Letting out a short sigh of relief, he adds, "She's breathing."

"Good," Drake says, standing. "Keep an eye on her. Emery seemed fine when she woke up but you guys might not be. Take it easy."

"Where are you going?" Eric asks, moving into a sitting position beside Julia.

Drake's already taking apart the blockade Eric and Julia made when he replies. "I need to find Taylor." He tears down the rest of it and Drake's out the door the moment he opens it. It takes him a few milliseconds to get a bearing on his surroundings and when he does, he feels sick. There are people on the ground _everywhere_. Some are starting to move but others aren't and this could be a massacre. He wants to see if everyone's okay but he can't. He has to find Taylor. He's on his way to the street where he last saw her when someone grabs his arm. "Drake."

"Sophia," Drake says. "Are you okay?"

She nods. "Better than everyone else. Lukas, too. He's a bit concussed, I think, though."

"Yeah, him and every other human." Drake grabs her shoulders gently. "Listen, you need to try and wake everyone who's down, okay? I'd help bu-"

"Taylor," she cuts him off. "Go. Just, is Roman okay? And Emery and Grayson, too."

"Roman and Emery will be fine but Grayson's been shot," he answers.

She puts her hand on her chest before calling out, "Is he okay?"

"Roman and Emery are doing the best they can to help but I'm not sure," he says loudly over his shoulder, ending the conversation as he's too far away to continue it. He hopes Sophia won't get offended.

Sophia heads off to the nearest injured and Drake heads off towards where he thinks Taylor will be. It doesn't take him long to find her car and his heart sinks. Her upturned car, that's surrounded by fire. He's running before he knows what he's doing and when he gets a good hundred metres from her car, he can hear her.

"Drake!" she shouts, coughing. "Help me!"

The fire's spreading fast and if Drake doesn't hurry, the car's going to explode. With Taylor in it. "Are you stuck?" he yells back, reaching the upended vehicle.

"Drake?" she repeats loudly, as if she didn't know he was there. "Yes!"

"How?"

"My leg's caught!" She's fighting the urge to scream, trying to keep as calm as possible. Knowing that Drake has no idea how her leg's stuck, she looks at her lower half and quickly surveys the damage. "You've just got to move the passenger seat!"

Drake hears her and within seconds, the broken seat is off her leg and she's free. Unclicking her seatbelt, she begins to try to crawl out until Drake's arms are within her reach and she's being carried out. The car is now completely on fire and he carries her as far away as possible, careful of the injury to her leg. Once she's safely on the ground, he turns back towards the fireball to make sure no one else is in the vicinity of the car. Luckily there's no one and seconds later the car explodes, raining pieces down on the ground. Drake covers Taylor's body with his own as a precaution until nothing else is falling.

Hey, guys. I wrote more than this as a whole, but I decided to split it up into smaller chapters. If you liked it, let me know, and I'll upload the next part. And thanks for reading! :)

Shannon


	2. Chapter 2

**I also forgot to put it in the first chapter so this is the disclaimer. I own none of these characters and they're all rightfully the CW's. Happy reading!**

"Y-You saved me," Taylor whispers against his chest. His singlet is wet with her tears and she's got the material bunched up her hands.

"Of course," he replies softly into her hair. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't." She sniffles at this and after a while, she finally releases. Drake leans back on his heels as she swipes at her eyes. They're bright blue, like it'd be any different, and there's no around but she still can't take the chance that someone will find out. Drake notices the cut on her face, then. "Are you feeling okay?"

Taylor sees where he's looking and touches her face, grimacing slightly. "Yeah, I think it's just a cut from the glass. It's fine, I promise."

Drake nods once, giving her a small smile at how brave she's being and repositions himself around her leg. There's bruising around the ankle and he assumes she's broken it but he's not sure. He stands and offers a hand to Taylor who takes it and hops up, balancing on her good foot. "You right to walk back to the building?" he asks her. He guesses that if Roman did get through to paramedics, he'd get them to send a hell of a lot of them back, and one of them would be able to check out Taylor. She's not concussed, like Drake suspected, and he gives the baby inside her stomach credit for that.

She nods. "Is everyone okay?"

"I think so," Drake allows, taking Taylor's arm and putting it around his neck to help her walk. "Emery, Julia, Lukas and Eric are all concussed, as I assume the rest of the humans are that got hit by the energy blast. Roman and Sophia are fine but Grayson..." He trails off, wincing slightly. He's got no idea if he'll still be alive.

"What happened?" she asks, worry in her tone.

"Zoe shot him," he replies, moving off to footpath that will connect them directly to the street with the building the Suvek went off at. "And then I shot her."

Taylor gasps. "Is Grayson okay?"

"I honestly don't know. Emery and Roman are up there trying to stop the bleeding but it was coming out fast." They're nearly at the corner when he hears multiple ambulance sirens. "Roman must have gotten through."

"Taylor!" a voice calls from across the road. It's Sophia and Lukas and they're running towards them.

"Careful," Drake warns as the two of them stop a few feet in front of Taylor and Drake. "She's got a broken ankle, I think."

"I'm a certified first aid person, I can take a look," Lukas offers, gesturing to a bench a metre away.

"Thanks," Drake and Taylor say at the same time. He turns towards her. "You and Lukas stay out here, okay? Sophia and I'll go up and see if Grayson's okay and when the ambulances gets here, you tell them where we are."

Taylor nods, surprisingly calm, as she moves to the bench Lukas pointed out with his help. "Okay," she says, sitting. When Drake doesn't shift his feet at all, she demands, "Go, Lukas has got me." She offers him a smile. "I'll be fine."

Drake nods, looks at Sophia, who seems to have no hard feelings about the abrupt ending to their earlier conversation, and heads inside the building. Julia and Eric aren't there which means that Julia is okay and they're gone or on the roof. Drake hopes for the latter, beelining for the elevator with Sophia behind him.

"You think he'll be okay?" she asks.

Drake shakes his head. "It didn't look good," he admits. The elevator doors open and they step inside. He runs a hand over his head as they go upward. "This is all our fault."

"Hey," Sophia protests, laying a sympathetic hand on his arm. "Don't say that. It's the Trags' fault. They were the ones who built the bomb. You guys did the best you could."

"We didn't stop it."

Hitting the roof stops Sophia from having to reply as the two of them run towards Roman, Emery and Grayson. Julia's a few feet away, sitting down with Eric rubbing her back. She looks a little pale and Drake wonders if this thing hit her harder than others.

Roman sees Drake and Sophia first and he's on his feet, hugging Sophia as tightly as possible. "You're okay?" he asks her.

"Fine, fine," she answers, politely dismissive. "It's the humans I'm worried about."

"I heard the sirens, you get through?" Drake asks Roman.

Shaking his head, Roman points to Eric. "Emery needed help with Grayson so Eric dialled."

"Nice work," Drake tells him before turning his attention toward the human with a bullet wound. "He going to make it?" he asks bluntly.

"If the paramedics don't get here quickly, no," Emery answers truthfully. "He's barely got a pulse and I'm fairly sure he's about to run out of blood."

"Taylor and Lukas are on the floor to help the paramedics with directions," Sophia supplies.

"The Suvek mustn't have got all of Edendale," Julia comments from where she and Eric are seated. She's holding her arm and Drake assumes Eric was right. She'd landed funny, and hurt her arm. "If Eric got through _and _there are ambulances on their way, it must have only been a certain radius."

Drake nodded in agreement. "There was no one around when I found Taylor. And they would have still been there had they'd been hit. Taylor's car must have been the end."

Grayson makes a gargled noise, then, and it's lucky the paramedics arrive at that point. Emery's out of the way as soon as one of them reaches her and Roman, Drake, and Sophia move out of the way, too. They have a board to move his body onto and one of them is carrying their supplies.

"I'm not going to ask how this happened," one of the paramedics say as they kneel beside Grayson, "but can someone tell me _what _happened?"

"He was shot in the stomach," Emery answers, "before the energy blast." She gestures to herself and then Eric and Julia. "I'm pretty sure we're mildly concussed, like all the other humans on the ground. And Julia's got a broken arm."

"What's this one's name?" the other paramedic asks.

"Grayson," Drake replies.

They both nod. "Alright, well, I'm Kieran and this is Hayley," Kieran introduces, who's not looking at anyone but Grayson. Hayley's getting gauze pads out of the bag, and it's not looking good. "How much blood has he lost?"

"Lots," Emery continues.

"Alright, we need to get him stable," Hayley says to Kieran. "As stable as we can, anyway. Look how pale he is."

"Will he be okay?" Roman asks.

"We won't know until we get him to a hospital," Hayley answers, removing Drake's jacket and taking a look. "Who put the jacket on him?"

Emery looks at Roman and Roman looks to Drake who stares right back at him. "I did," Drake answers, his eyes flicking to Hayley. "And then Emery kept a hold on it while I looked for someone else."

Hayley nods. "Nice work. I don't know if he'd even be alive if you didn't. It might have even saved his life."

Drake lets out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding, watching as the paramedics do what they do best. "What do you need us to do?"

"Julia, is it?" Kieran asks instead, looking at her.

She nods. "Yeah."

"You're coming with us," Hayley says, grunting as she and Kieran put Grayson on the board they'd laid out flat. "The rest of you, you're all feeling somewhat okay?" There's a sea of nods. "Alright. You," she says, pointing to Drake, "hold the elevator. Me and Kieran are going to take Grayson down first, and Julia will ride with us. The rest of you, make your way down after we're out." Standing up and reaching down to pick up Grayson in unison with Kieran, she adds, "You Atrians make sure your friends are alright until you get them to a paramedic on the ground, okay? Concussions can be worse than they're made out to be." She says Atrians as politely as she can, and isn't using it as an insult.

Drake's over to elevator and pressing the button as soon as Hayley finishes talking. Both Hayley and Kieran are holding onto either side of the stretcher and Eric's walking Julia over with them, careful not to bump the arm she's clutching to her chest. The doors ding and Drake presses against doors so the paramedics can get Grayson in. It's a tight squeeze but once they manoeuvre a little bit, there's enough room for Julia to step in. Eric gives her a small smile and a kiss on the cheek before Drake presses the ground floor button for them. It sends the elevator down and leaves three Atrians and two humans on the roof.

Hey, guys. Here's the next part! :) Don't forget to let me know if you liked it! If you do, I'll upload the next part. Thanks for reading. (:

Shannon


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys know the drill. Disclaimer: none of these characters are mine and are all rightfully the CW's. **

**And another disclaimer: most if not all of the medical stuff that happens within this story is not solid factual information. Because of the futuristic setting this story is set in, it's all made up. I tried to make it as realistic as possible but if something is incorrect, I apologise.**

**Anyway, happy reading! **

"How the hell are we going to explain what happened here?" Drake asks no one in particular.

"We'll ask Gloria. She'll be able to fix things, won't she?" Emery answers.

"How?"

"Let's ask her, maybe?" Eric returns pointedly. They all get into the elevator that's just arrived and when they get down to the bottom, doors opening, they see Taylor leaning on Lukas with her foot in the air. She's got a little Band-Aid over the cut she got to her forehead, and Drake thinks she looks adorable.

"Finally," she says and hobbles over to Drake, falling a little as she goes. Drake manages to stop her before she hits the ground.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?" he asks her, a little teasing despite their situation.

She shrugs. "Maybe, but when do I listen to you?"

Drake looks to Lukas. "Did you guys get checked out by the paramedics?"

Lukas nods. "Yeah. Taylor needs to go to the hospital to her ankle plastered but she refused to go without you. I'm fine, actually. No concussion." He taps on his head a little, a goofy grin on his face. "I've got a hard head."

"Lucky you," Emery teases before wobbling a bit. Roman catches her arm and she straightens. "Let's go get me checked out, huh?"

Eric and Emery go first, considering they're the only humans who haven't been looked at yet, with Roman, Lukas and Sophia behind them. Taylor and Drake bring up the rear, with Taylor hopping as best she can alongside Drake.

"You should have gone to the hospital, Taylor," he tells her softly.

"There are worse people injured then I am, I'll be fine," she replies. The bright light of the sun nearly blinds them as they all get out of the building. Eric and Emery are escorted by Roman to a nearby paramedic and as Drake looks around, he sees that there are hardly any more people on the ground. Hopefully, they're at the hospital and they're all okay.

"What do we do now?" Sophia asks.

"Wait," is all Drake says.

"For who?"

"Gloria, the police. Whoever arrives first, I suppose."

"I wonder why the police haven't arrived yet, though," Lukas muses. "Usually their response time is much quicker than this."

"Guys," Roman calls, making their heads turn towards the direction of his voice. He's standing beside the ambulance Eric and Emery are seated on, where they're getting examined. He waves Emery's phone in the air and they all get over there as quickly as possible. The paramedics checking out Emery and Eric decree that Eric's fine but Emery's not and they'll need to do a better assessment at the hospital.

"Could we have a few minutes?" Roman asks the girl.

"You've got five," the paramedic tells them, looking Taylor, who's clinging onto Drake, up and down. "And then Emery and you," she says, talking about Taylor, "are going to the hospital. I don't even know how you're not rolling around in pain."

Taylor shrugs, an awkward movement, and gives the paramedic an even more awkward thumbs up. "Good genes," she says as if it's an explanation.

"Right." The paramedic walks away, then, and Roman hits the speaker button.

"Okay, Gloria, you're good now," he says into the phone.

"We've got most of the Trags arrested and heading for the Crate," Gloria says as an introduction, her voice a little garbled on loud speaker. "The only ones we don't have are the ones who stole the Suvek, and clearly detonated it."

"You don't have to worry about them anymore," Drake cuts in.

"Good," she replies. "Now, the surge was only a kilometre in diameter which means the only people injured were at the parade. Because we have all the Trags going to jail and the rest are dead, there's been a collective decision to blame the Trags in the _media_."

"How do you know all this?" Roman asks.

"Teri gave herself, and the Trags, up to save you all. That isn't the point, though, Roman," Gloria continues. "There's going to be an uproar about this, once it's released to the general public. People who once hid in the shadows will now be calling for Atrian blood. The Redhawks may initiate something."

"Teri?" Roman repeats before getting poked by Emery. "Right, sorry. Okay. Do you know why the police haven't arrived yet?"

"The bosses of my bosses stopped them. We're trying to contain this as best as possible."

"But the emergency services came," Sophia mentions, her eyebrows furrowed.

"The only government certified service, yes." Gloria takes a deep breath before continuing. "We know there'll be a hell of a resistance to this so you all have to prepare yourselves. And not just you Atrians, either. Everyone associated with the Atrians are suspected to be treated just as badly."

"When's the news report going to come out?"

"It's being broadcast in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Roman says. "Thank you, Gloria."

"It's my job," she says, albeit fondly. "I'm at the sector, so I'll be there in ten. I'd like a detailed explanation of everything that happened."

"Will do," Roman replies. Gloria hangs up, then, and Emery puts her phone back in her pocket.

The paramedic, Sara it says on her badge, comes back around then. "You finished trying to fix the world?" she asks.

"Barely," Emery replies, a little smile on her lips.

"Alright," she says, stepping up on the back of ambulance. "Come on in."

Emery steps up by herself and sits down on the bench in the back. Sara steps around her and gestures to Taylor. Drake lifts her up and gently sets her down on the gurney, who doesn't let go of Drake.

"You're coming with me," she says firmly.

Drake looks to Roman. "You're okay with that?" he asks him.

Roman nods, knowing that Emery's in the second best possible hands with Drake. "Look after Emery, too, while you're there."

"And check on Julia if you can, too," Eric cuts in.

"I'll do my best," Drake returns, joining Taylor on the gurney. "What will you guys do here?"

"Wait for Gloria," Roman answers. "And explain to her what the hell happened."

Drake nods once and Sara knocks on the wall of the car, indicating to her partner they're ready to go. She closes the doors as he starts the car and Drake, Emery and Taylor are off to the hospital, leaving Roman, Eric, Sophia and Lukas in their wake.

_Hey guys. As always, reviews, favourites and follows are the coolest thing in the world and would be greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoyed this chapter_. :)

_Shannon_


	4. Chapter 4

**Same old, same old. Disclaimer: none of these characters are my own, they're all rightfully the CW's. And none of the medical knowledge is definitely factual. **

**Happy reading! :)**

It only takes about ten minutes for them to get to the hospital. Sara's partner, who she told them was Axel on the way there, opens the doors for them. Drake gets out first and helps Taylor, carrying her bridal style until she can get a grip on her one good foot. Axel offers his hand to both Sara and Emery before closing the doors. Drake drapes Taylor's arm around his shoulders while Sara and Axel flank Emery in case she drops.

It's a madhouse inside the emergency ward. There are people everywhere, and Drake assumes that the hospital they're at is the one all the ambulances took their patients to. Sara leads them to a spare bed and Axel gestures for them to both sit on it.

"We don't really want to waste a bed," he apologises and both Taylor and Emery nod. Sara and Axel leave then, going to tell the doctors they've got two more patients. They bring back a doctor and Drake takes a moment to thank them before they're gone.

"It's our job," Sara answers, reminiscent of exactly what Gloria had said.

She and Axel give them a little wave before they're back out the doors and getting in the ambulance. The three of them direct their attention to the doctor, who looks a little sourly at Drake. Drake had expected he'd run into at least one person who didn't like his kind.

"Hey," Taylor says, clicking her fingers in the doctor's face. "He's not why we're here."

The doctor clears his throat. "Right. I'm Doctor Carter. Sara and Axel have told me that you have a concussion," he says, looking towards Emery who nods, "and you have a broken ankle?"

"Yes," Taylor answers, a little bit snappy. She doesn't have time for people prejudiced against Atrians. "They said I'd need it to be plastered, and I'll be on crutches for a few weeks."

Carter looks a little taken aback but continues on nonetheless. "Sounds like you've been well informed. Alright." He turns a little and calls over a nurse. "Could you please take Taylor here to get her ankle checked out and plastered?" he asks her. The nurse, nodding, brings over a wheelchair and Drake helps Taylor into it.

"How long will it take?" Taylor asks.

The nurse smiles at her. "Fifteen minutes, give or take," she answers.

Taylor nods and the nurse begins to wheel her away. Drake starts to follow but a hand on his arm stops him. "I'll be fine," Taylor says, looking up at him. "You stay with Emery."

Drake returns the few steps toward Emery, where Doctor Carter's checking her head and doing all things he should be for a concussion.

"Hey," Emery starts, touching his arm a little. "Why don't you find out how Grayson and Julia are?"

He nods. "You're okay, here?"

"Fine," she answers, a small smile developing on her face. "Despite what Roman thinks, I'm tougher than I look."

"Roman doesn't think that at all, you know," he tells her. "He gets worried about everything. Has since he was born."

"One of the many great things about him."

Drake twists his face up in mock disgust but goes toward the place that looks like a receptionist's desk. It's only a few metres from where Emery's getting examined. "Do you know where I could get an update on Grayson Montrose?" he says by way of introduction. "And Julia…"

"Yeung!" Emery calls out from behind him.

"Julia Yeung," he finishes.

"Are you a family member or significant other?" the person behind the counter asks.

Drake shakes his head. "No."

"Well, I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything."

"Why?"

"Because you're not a family member or significant other."

Drake goes to reply but a hand on his shoulder stops him and Gloria steps out from behind him. "What about school principal and a U.S government liaison?" she says, looking sharply at the girl behind the glass.

"Uh, right away." The receptionist, her name badge reads Bridget, leans forward and starts clicking on her computer mouse. "Grayson Montrose is still in surgery and Julia Yeung is in room 24, on this floor."

"Thank you," Gloria says. "Who is Mr Montrose's doctor? And what floor is he on?"

After a moment, Bridget answers, "Doctor Wright. On floor 3. He'll be in for a while, though."

"Is there a waiting room up there?"

She nods. "Yes. If you go up the elevator, the door will open right out at it."

Gloria repeats her thanks and turns on her heel, Drake close behind. Roman's already with Emery when they go back to where she was getting checked out, and he's holding tightly onto her hand while Eric has an expectant look on his face. Sophia and Lukas look a little bit worried, which is unsurprising.

"What are you doing here?" Drake asks them all, not unkindly.

Lukas shrugs a little. "When we told Gloria what happened, she bundled us in the car. Besides, everyone had either gone home after being checked out by paramedics or they're at the hospital. I mean, there's mess everywhere but we'll get to that when we're all okay." He takes a breath. "I should, uh, probably _breathe _when I talk."

Sophia smiles a little and Eric just shakes his head.

"Are you okay?" Roman asks Emery.

She nods. "The doctor said to just rest and keep hydrated. I might be little wobbly for a while, though."

"Any word on Julia?" Eric says to Gloria and Drake.

"She's in room 24," Gloria answers. "Only a few of us should go and someone needs to call her parents." She points to Eric and Lukas. "You two go. Make sure one of you dials her parents, even if it's Julia herself."

Eric's the first one to leave, nodding as Lukas follows him. "Lukas," Gloria calls out before he's out of hearing range. "When you get her, we'll be up on floor 3 for Grayson." He nods and then disappears around the corner.

"What about Taylor?" Drake asks.

"You better not have forgotten me already," a voice says behind them, humour in her tone.

"Of course not," Drake says immediately, turning around and smiling at her. She's on crutches, and her entire foot is in a cast. "How long?"

"6 weeks," Taylor answers miserably. As she gets closer towards them, she mutters, "Atrians better not grow at rapid pace. Or I won't be able to hold myself up at all."

"We don't," Sophia helpfully says. "It'll be a normal 9 month pregnancy for you."

"I don't think there's anything normal about this," Taylor says fondly, no malice behind her words.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Drake murmurs to Taylor.

Roman claps his hands together. "Okay," he says. "_That _happened. Let's pretend it _didn't_ and go find out how the Redhawk is doing." He helps Emery off the bed and moves towards the elevator, a small smile on his face despite the situation.

"Hey, I'm a Redhawk," Emery protests cheekily, holding onto his hand.

"And he kind of saved our lives," Sophia adds.

"Mr Montrose is a Redhawk?" Gloria asks, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"A good one," Emery answers. "Actually, that sounds wrong. Grayson recreated the Redhawks to fight against the _bad _Atrians."

"Maybe you're a bit more damaged than the doctors think," Sophia tells her, teasing.

Emery bumps shoulders with her, smiling slightly. "Just let me explain it better," she says as the group collectively walks to the elevator. "The Redhawks that Grayson is leading aren't at all the old militia group. They were working beside Drake into bringing down the Trags. It's why Grayson helped us in the first place. He and his Redhawks want the exact same thing we do. They don't want war."

"Right," Gloria says slowly.

Drake hits the button for the elevator and there's a collective sigh as they wait. It's becoming real again, the fact that Grayson could die, and they're all on edge. The six of them step in when it arrives and it's a little bit squishy, especially with Drake and Taylor's crutches.

"Has anyone called Grayson's father?" Gloria asks.

"We told the paramedics who he was, and I assume Julia would have mentioned it, too," Emery answers.

Gloria nods. "Good." The floor number ticks up to three, and it dings as they get out. The receptionist was correct and they're right at the waiting room. Emery scans the room and her eyes find Grayson's dad. He's up and over to them at once, the televisions the only sound as he does. Mr Montrose has seen the news. _Wonderful_, Drake thinks.

"What are you three doing here?" he growls at Drake, Sophia and Roman, his voice barely audible.

Drake goes to answer just as viciously but Gloria steps in front of him. "They're _allowed _to be here, Mr Montrose. If it weren't for them, and the rest of their friends, Grayson would be dead. They saved his life."

He goes a little red at these words. "Bulldust," he says, a little angrier than his last sentence. "These people killed my son and now they've ruined my other son's life. They need to leave."

"They're not going anywhere," Gloria tells him calmly. "If you try to make them, you'll be the one getting kicked out of here." She takes a step closer. "Understand?"

Grayson's dad walks away with an angry roll of his eyes, retreating to his seat in the corner of the room.

The rest of them move to the other side, with Gloria sitting against the wall furthest from the elevator and the remaining five fill in the seats in the middle. There's four different televisions in the waiting room, and they're all broadcasting four different news networks with the story Gloria released to public. Drake leans back into his chair and Taylor manoeuvres herself into a position where she can lay her head on his shoulder. She doesn't care if people see, it's just the pregnancy she's got to hide. Besides, the most important people know, and she could always go to Gloria anyway. Roman's shaking his leg, a nervous tic, and it's proof enough that no matter how hard Roman would deny it, he doesn't hate Grayson. They're all silent as they wait but they can feel simmering anger from Grayson's dad. Truth be told, Taylor's head on his shoulder is the only thing stopping Drake from marching over there and doing something.

_Hey guys, thank you for reading. :) Reviews, favourites and follows are very dear to me so if you liked this chapter, please make it known! You're all fabulous if you've kept reading and I'll hopefully see you soon. _

_Shannon_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, same as always. Disclaimer: none of these characters are mine and are all rightfully the CW's and all the medical things are off the top of my head. :) **

**Happy reading! **

Drake's not sure how long they wait. He, Roman and Emery get up and wash their hands some time into their wait. Grayson's blood is still on them and it's the stickiest thing they've ever had on their hands. About half hour that, Sophia gets up and heads over to one of the vending machines. She pulls out a chocolate bar but after checking the contents, her shoulders slump and she politely offers it to Emery. Ten minutes after that, Eric, Julia and Lukas come out of the elevator. Drake notices that Julia looks a lot better than she did on the roof. She's got a cast on her arm that looks ripe for signatures. The humans aren't the only ones who like drawing on them, Drake thinks silently. He remembers a time when Roman broke his foot and within a day, Drake had drawn all over it.

"How are you feeling?" Emery asks, hugging her. The question pulls Drake out of his head.

"A little worse for wear," Julia says, a little sheepish. "But nothing I can't handle. Besides, I'm sure everyone's feeling the same." She glances teasingly between the Atrians. "Except for you lot of course. You're all superwonderful." Her eyes turn worried. "Is there any word on Grayson?"

Emery shakes her head. "Not yet. No news is good news at this point, though."

"I've never understood that phrase," Sophia comments as they seat themselves. She's moved next to Emery so Eric and Julia can sit next to one another, and Lukas snagged the seat in the corner besides Gloria.

"It's kind o-" Julia begins to say but her words are cut off by the swinging doors opening. A man in scrubs comes out and Gloria and Grayson's father are up at once, the rest of them quick behind Gloria. Taylor's understandably a few seconds slower.

Dr. Wright looks a little confused at how many people are in the waiting room but blinks twice and turns to his right. "Mr Montrose?"

Grayson's dad nods, throwing a look of disdain at Gloria and the teens. "Is he okay?"

"The bullet missed everything major, fortunately."

"Why was there so much blood, then?" Drake asks before the doctor can continue.

"Let the man talk," Taylor mumbles, only loud enough for Drake to hear.

"It hit a few blood vessels," the doctor answers. "He'll be sore for a few weeks but he should make a full recovery."

The breath they were all holding comes out and Emery whispers, "Thank goodness."

Relief is written all over Grayson's dad's face, and Drake even thinks Mr Montrose's eyes are glassy. "Thank you, Doctor," he says.

Doctor Wright gives him a smile and squeezes his shoulder. "You can go in and see him if you'd like." He side-eyes Gloria and the others, offering them a sympathetic smile. "It's family-only at the moment, I'm sorry."

Gloria dismisses the statement with a polite flourish of her hand. "Oh, that's alright," she says. "It's fine if we stay here, however?"

Grayson's doctor nods. "Of course." He turns to Mr Montrose. "If you'll follow me."

He leaves with Doctor Wright and the group returns to their seats, relief etched into faces instead of worry.

"You guys should receive commendations," Gloria tells them all with a small, proud smile.

"Don't go that far," Eric says. "A medal would do."

Julia rolls her eyes and Emery snorts. Drake shakes his head with a tiny smirk on his face. Taylor laughs a little and Roman and Lukas just grin.

"Nice to know you haven't lost your humour through this difficult time," Gloria says dryly, but she's also got a smile on her face. "You kids did good, though."

In sync, bashful smiles envelope the teenagers. "Thanks, Gloria," Emery says. She gestures to Drake. "I think he should get the biggest medal, though."

Drake's immediately shaking his head. "What? Hell no. You did more than I did."

"You saved his life, Drake," Eric says.

Apparently Atrians can blush. Red blooms across Drake's face and he steels his jaw. When did he start to receive compliments instead of curses? "All I did was put my jacket over the hole in his chest."

"Raise your hand if you were on the roof when Hayley and Kieran the paramedics were there," Julia orders politely. She raises her own hand as Roman, Emery, Sophia and Eric do the same thing. "Now, what were the exact words Hayley said?"

"_I don't know if he'd even be alive if you didn't. It might have even saved his life,_" Sophia recalls with exact precision.

Their hands go down as Julia narrows her eyes at Drake with a smug look on her face. Everyone laughs. "Shut up and take the compliment," she tells him with a mischievous smile.

Drake actually pouts.

"What's gonna happen now?" Emery asks Gloria, after a few minutes of individual chatter.

Gloria takes a deep breath. "Well, the news story's gone out. The Trags are blamed, because it was their fault, and we released a statement saying we only knew about them when an unidentified person called up with a tip. The statement also said we've got the rest in custody or they sacrificed themselves for their cause."

"What about us?" Roman asks, gesturing to rest of the group with his hand. "And I don't mean just me, Sophia and Drake. I mean all of us. Have we officially had any part in it?"

"Sort of," Gloria answers.

"Sort of?" Roman repeats, a little surprised at how venomous it sounded coming out of his mouth.

"The only thing that the media knows is that you all stumbled upon this when you went up to the roof of the building to get away from the parade."

"So," Julia begins, her eyes a little narrowed, "the whole story is Roman, Emery, Eric, Lukas, Grayson, Sophia, Drake, and I left the parade and headed upstairs to hang out together. We accidently," – she uses air quotes here – "stumbled upon the Trags, who were a dangerous group of Atrians the whole world knew nothing about. I also assume we're leaving out Zoe's involvement, and they were threatening to explode a bomb that would kill people of Edendale. We tried to stop it, only managing to restrict to a kilometre, and the Trags blew themselves up?"

Gloria nods. "Yes. Basically. And we got the tip ten minutes before hand but the police were too late."

"I suppose that's valid," Lukas says.

"We can't tell the public the real story," Gloria reminds them.

Emery bites her lip but she nods. "It would cause anarchy." She looks at the three Atrians. "You guys would be in a hell of a lot more danger, too."

"But you lot wouldn't be," Drake says. "If we say what happened, truthfully, we'll be the only ones to get blamed. You don't have to have any involvement in this."

Drake thinks it could only happen in movies but all the humans roll their eyes in sync, even Gloria. "You're ridiculous and that's a stupid idea," Julia says.

"It's not, though," Roman interjects, agreeing with Drake. "Drake's right. This could save you guys all the trouble. We could just say you were at the parade and it was just us that went up to the roof because you were enjoying it."

"That will not be happening," Emery says. "Ever. Never ever. I don't care if people know I tried to protect the Atrians."

Roman looks at Emery like Drake looks at Taylor. Drake looks around at the people he never thought he'd call friends. "You would put your _lives _on the line for the world to know what happened?"

"It's not exactly what happened," Lukas reminds them with a wink.

"We're sorted, then?" Gloria asks rhetorically. She clasps her hands together and rests them in her lap. "Good."

"The story will be exactly what Julia said?" Roman says, looking at the liaison.

"Yes." She nods and leans forward a little. "Just be prepared for anything."

"Are we still getting medals?" Eric questions. Julia hits him with her good arm and he winces. "I was kidding."

Before anyone else can speak, the doors where Grayson's dad disappeared through open and a disgruntled Mr Montrose comes out, looking at them. He runs a hand through his already messed up hair and speaks. "He's asking for you." He takes a breath before adding, "All of you. He wants to talk to all of you."

_Thanks for reading, friends! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and, as always, reviews and such are muchly appreciated. _

_Shannon :)_


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys. I can't believe it's been a month since I updated! I am SO sorry. Life just got in the way and I hope you can forgive me. As always, everything is rightfully the CW's and the medical knowledge is from the top of my head. **

**I hope you enjoy and I present to you, the final chapter! (Be sure to check the A/N at the end, though! :))**

Emery's the first to stand along with Drake and Roman. They head towards Mr Montrose and Julia, Eric, Sophia and Lukas are right behind. Taylor decides to sit this one out, and Gloria tells Drake she'll stay with her. It only takes them a few seconds to find Grayson's room, after his dad told them what number he was in, and within even less time they're surrounding his bed with worried looks on their faces. Emery notices how pale he is and even Drake can see him wince whenever he moves a tiny bit. Still, Grayson offers them a smile when they come in.

"Hi," he says, as if that's an appropriate introduction after you've just been in surgery getting a bullet hole fixed.

"Hey," Emery says softly in return. She's on the right side of him with Roman standing beside her and Eric and Julia are at the foot of the bed. Drake and Lukas are on the side closest to the door and Sophia's leaning against the wall near the doorway. "How are you feeling?"

Grayson laughs a little, pulling up as he does. "Sore," he answers. "Definitely sore."

"Understandable," Roman comments. "Thought we'd lost you there."

"Can't knock me down for too long," Grayson says, flicking his eyes to Drake. "Apparently I have you to thank?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because you saved his life?" Sophia says from over his shoulder.

"All I did was put my jacket on the bullet hole," Drake defends. Again. He thinks he should record it on one of the human's phones and play it every time someone tells him he saved Grayson's life.

"You stopped him from bleeding out," Emery reminds him.

"Are you sure?" Drake asks. "Because as I recall, there were _waves _of it coming out over our hands."

"Take the compliment, bro," Roman says, surprising Drake a little with the human slang. "It's getting kind of annoying with you arguing about how you saved this guy's life."

"I second that motion," Julia says.

"You don't want to be known for saving a human?" Grayson asks. He's joking, though, and everyone knows it but Drake.

"Of course not," he replies, visibly blushing. Again. "I saved Taylor."

"Then why are you so conflicted about saving him?" Eric asks.

"Anyone could have done it!" Drake answers, a little louder than necessary.

Grayson grins. "And they didn't. You did. So, shut up." He offers his hand to Drake. "And thank you."

"You're welcome, I suppose. Try not to get shot again." The two of them shake hands and Grayson nods at him.

"And the old Drake returns," Lukas says, who earns a glare from Drake. Lukas smirks.

"How long do you have to be in hospital?" Emery asks.

"A few days," Grayson answers. "Until the doctors are sure I won't pull out the stitches."

"You prepared for a divided crowd?" Eric says.

"What do you mean?"

The group decides that Julia will tell him the story, considering she was the one who put it into layman's terms to being with. "You'll either have people who will regard you as a hero or people who will be disgusted that you worked with Atrians."

Grayson shrugs, wincing slightly. "That's fine with me, and that story seems fine, too."

"Are you sure?" Emery asks.

He takes a deep breath. "The reason why I'm reimaging the Redhawks is that so we can all live together peacefully, with no killing or harming the other. If I'm going to get slammed, I may as well get slammed for doing something right." He looks at all of them before adding, "Besides, it's something you guys deal with every day and you're still all alive. And you'll all be there to protect me, anyway." His eyes flick to Eric. "You'll be going through it, too, you know."

"I've had about half an hour more time to process it," Eric answers. "And Julia will knock out anyone who comes near me with her cast."

Grayson laughs. "You guys have to go or at least stop making me move. I've got a bullet hole, you know."

"You won't shut up about it," Roman says, a smug smile on his face. He doesn't know why, but he feels like Grayson's going to be a good friend to have, after this.

He takes an affronted look. "Obviously. I nearly died."

Before anyone else can talk, a nurse comes in. Her name badge reads Mia. "Visiting hours are about to come to an end, I'm sorry. And Mr Montrose needs to rest." She offers them a polite smile. "You can all come back tomorrow, though."

"Thank you, Nurse Mia," Lukas says with his typical cheeriness.

"Wait, what time is it?" Grayson asks.

"Six," Mia answers.

"It's six o'clock?" Drake repeats.

Mia nods. "You've been at the hospital for five hours, kids."

Emery lets out a breath. "We'd better get going, then."

"Get well," Julia says, squeezing his foot sympathetically.

"I'll be on my feet in no time," he returns. "And you, too."

"We'll come by tomorrow after school," Roman tells him.

"What about your curfew? They'll surely put one in place after this." He's referring to the Atrians and it's lucky Gloria walks in at that time.

"I'll sort it out. Don't worry about anything except getting better, Mr Montrose." Gloria gives him a sympathetic smile.

"I'll do my best."

"Alright," Gloria says when no one speaks for a few moments. "Let's get out of here. I'll send your father in for you if you'd like?"

Grayson nods and the group takes it as their cue to leave. "Thank you, Drake!" Grayson calls out loudly and everyone can hear the humour in his voice.

Even Taylor. "Apparently I've been replaced," she says when he comes over to help her stand.

"Never," Drake grins. "I think he may be a little hyped on pain medication."

Taylor hobbles to the elevator where the others are standing with Drake's help and Roman presses the button. Gloria joins them a few seconds later after having talked to Grayson's dad. "I called all your parents while you were in there," she tells the humans. "They'll be here soon."

"Is there a bus or something coming for us?" Roman asks before she can tell them anything.

"I'm dropping you three off." The elevator doors open and they all step inside. Squishy is definitely an understatement.

They're out the elevator less than two minutes later and as they walk outside the front, they discover Emery and Taylor's parents already there.

"Oh, Taylor," her mom says, rushing over to her from the car. "I've seen the news but you weren't on the roof, were you?"

Taylor shakes her head. "I was in my car when the blast hit. It flipped the car but Drake pulled me out before it exploded. This was the result."

Mrs Beecham looks at Drake a little warily. "Thank you s-sir."

"Don't mention it, Mrs Beecham," Drake replies, more formally than he'd ever imagine he'd speak. Taylor gives him a quick hug and subtle kiss on the cheek before letting her mother help to the car. "See you, guys," she calls over her shoulder with a typical Taylor grin. "Talk tomorrow."

"Emery?" All heads turn towards the voice.

"Dad," Emery says with a breath, crashing into him with a hug. "Where's mom?"

"Dinner," he answers. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She offers him a smile. "Just a concussion so I have to take it easy."

Ray Whitehill shakes his head and hugs Emery again. "When I saw the news, I couldn't believe it. You're all okay, right?" He gestures to the others.

Emery nods. "A few scrapes and bruises. Grayson got shot, and Julia broke her arm. Taylor broke her foot. But, we'll live."

"Grayson got _shot_?"

"He's fine, Mr Whitehill," Julia says calmly. "Everything's under control, we promise."

"The kids are right, Ray," Gloria says, using his first name to soften the situation. "Everything is handled."

He lets out a breath. "You right to come home?" he asks Emery.

"Yeah." She lets go of her dad and kisses Roman goodbye. She squeezes Julia's good arm before saying goodbye to the rest of them. "Let's meet somewhere, yeah?"

"The tree behind the school?" Julia suggests and Emery nods before disappearing into the car.

The departure of these two leaves Eric, Julia, and Lukas behind. It isn't long before Eric's parents show up and they take Eric with minimal fuss. It makes Drake feel bad for him, if his parents aren't all that concerned about him and the situation that occurred today.

"His parents don't seem very nice," Sophia comments, voicing Drake's exact thoughts.

"They're not," Julia agrees, a little sad, "but they're usually away so Eric doesn't have to deal with them a lot."

Another car pulls up just as Sophia's about to say something and Lukas' mom almost dives out the front seat. "Lukas?" she says and Drake doesn't even have to look at her to know she's crying.

"Mom?"

"I couldn't get a hold of you, your phone went straight to voice mail." She reaches Lukas and squeezes him in a hug.

"I mustn't have had service. I'm sorry." He melts into the hug.

"As long as you and your friends are okay."

"They're fine, Mrs Parnell," Gloria says softly. "I apologise if I worried you on the phone."

"Good, good." She finally lets Lukas out of the hug and smiles at the remaining teens and Gloria. "You lot did a good job today, you know."

"Thanks, Mrs Parnell," Julia says with smile, blushing. "It was more this lot than anything." She gestures to the Atrians.

"I'm sure you're being modest, Miss Julia," Lukas' mom tells her. She looks at Lukas. "Let's get you home and fed, shall we?"

Lukas nods and says goodbye to the others before he's gone, too.

"I'm surprised your parents aren't here first, Julia," Roman says. He points at her arm. "You did call them and tell them, right?"

Julia nods. "They usually work late, they'll be here soon."

"What happened after we left the parade?" Sophia asks Gloria while they wait.

"Officials would have made sure everyone was looked after and then proceeded to clean the place up, I assume."

"So, this will really be contained?" Drake asks.

"Hopefully. You never know, to be honest, with a situation like this." She looks a little grave as she says, "You've just got to be prepared for everything."

"As long as Taylor is safe, I'll do anything to help," Drake offers.

"Thank you, Drake," Gloria says. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

"How do you manage to get us out of tough situations?" Roman asks curiously.

"I'm a liaison between your representatives and the government. Whatever I do impacts on the way the Atrians will be treated in the future. They trust me to run this operation smoothly, and usually trust me to do whatever I deem necessary. However, at times, I do need their help, as with calling off the local authorities today. But, they wouldn't have done it if it wasn't necessary."

"You get free reign?" Sophia asks, not unkindly.

"I did say usually. A lot of the big decisions need to go through them first."

"You must get stressed a lot," Julia says.

"I wouldn't have accepted this job if I, or they, didn't think I could run it successfully." She shrugs a little. "This is important for the future of our races."

"You deserve so much more credit than people give you, Gloria," Roman tells her.

"I like working behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera," she says lightly, joking.

It's at this point Julia's parents finally arrive. They take her with as much fuss as Lukas' mom had made and then they're gone as well.

"Home?" Gloria asks and they all nod.

"It's been one hell of a day."

Gloria bundles them into the car and they head off towards the sector.

The three of them know it's not over yet, that it's a battle they barely got out of and a war they're trying to stop. But, for today, the fighting is over.

_Thank you so much for reading and leaving comments and favouriting! You've made posting this story definitely worth while and I hope you liked this ending. This is all I've got written for this story but it's possible that I could write something more in the future so don't leave completely. ;) Anyway, again, I hope this story was everything you wanted it to be and I give my sincerest thanks and appreciation!_

_Shannon :) _


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